Press freedom heroes in Southeast Asia

Three Southeast
Asian journalists--Cambodia's Hang Chakra, Malaysia's Zulkiflee Anwar Ul Haque,
or Zunar, and Thailand's Chiranuch Premchaiporn--were among the 48 awardees of
the Hellman/Hammett grant,
given to writers targeted with political persecution, who were recognized today
by Human Rights Watch for their commitment to press freedom.

Hang Chakra,
editor-in-chief of the daily Khmer Machas Rok, was imprisoned
for 287 days on "disinformation" charges related to a story he wrote about
high-level corruption. Zunar,
a cartoonist and contributor to online news site Malaysiakini, now faces
sedition charges and possible imprisonment for his banned political
illustrations. Chiranuch faces
a possible 50 years in prison on charges related to anonymous comments critical
of the Thai monarchy posted to one of her news site's Web boards.

I spoke on a
panel with them today in Bangkok,
where I described the repression they have faced and discussed how their
individual cases are indicative of a downward trend in regional press freedom
conditions. Excerpts from my address follow:

On behalf of
CPJ, I would like to extend my hearty congratulations to these three recipients
of the Hellman/Hammett awards, but underscore my organization's belief that
none of them should have suffered from the government harassment that is
implicit in being a recipient of one of these prestigious awards.

These awards
speak to the lack of progress in press freedom in three of Southeast Asia's
reputed democracies and point disturbingly to the closing of space that was
once open for journalists to report and opine in Cambodia,
Malaysia, and Thailand.

It is notable
and chilling that two of today's three recipients have been persecuted for
their activities or journalism that originally appeared online. CPJ research
shows that the region's governments are increasingly targeting online
journalists. Nearly half of the journalists jailed worldwide published
their work predominantly online.

Chiranuch's
case, we believe, is meant to serve as a threatening example and warning to
other online journalists, editors, and bloggers to censor themselves and
refrain from reporting on taboo topics. Many Thailand-related blogs, our research
has found, have as a result shut down their comment boards to avoid similar
suits.

Chiranuch's case
has simultaneously underscored the arbitrary and vague ways Thai authorities
have opted to enforce the Computer Crimes Act, legislation CPJ has identified
as among the most punitive in the world from an Internet freedom perspective.
Those inconsistencies, including the lack of institutional guidelines on what
represents a violation of the act, have been laid bare in testimony given by
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry officials in Chiranuch's
court case.

The Yingluck
Shinawatra government in Thailand
has an opportunity to set a new press freedom course, including by throwing out
both the pending charges against Chiranuch and prioritizing the amendment of
the Computer Crime Act's vague provisions, particularly on third-party
intermediary liability.

We note that the
signals so far from Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung and ICT Minister
Anudit Nakornthap have been less than encouraging. Without moves to
re-establish press freedom across Thailand's political divide,
Yingluck's inaction will expose the bogus claims to democracy that her
government's affiliated street movement campaigned on while in the opposition.

In Malaysia, the
government is taking back the online space it previously pledged not to censor.
Our research shows the Malaysian government has backtracked on its vow to keep
the Internet a censorship-free space.

Malaysiakini, a pioneering online news organization
that has for over a decade pushed the boundaries of Malaysian journalism, has
often featured Zunar's political cartoons. CPJ views the harassment Zunar has
suffered as a clear and present danger to both press and Internet freedom in Malaysia.

That authorities
there continue to use antistate charges as outdated as the Official Secrets
Act, the Sedition Act, and the Internal Security Act to undermine freedom of
expression and threaten journalists like Zunar with imprisonment shows how
far Malaysia
has to go before it can claim to be a genuine and functioning democracy
under the United Malays National
Organization's rule.

In Cambodia, our
view is that Hang Chakra was wrongly jailed for reporting on alleged government
corruption and failing to disclose his sources. Cambodia's
government purports to support a free press and points to the explicit laws in Cambodia's law
books protecting press freedom--laws that authorities frequently circumvent to
stifle criticism.

The reality on
the ground is that Cambodia's media is dominated by newspapers sympathetic to
Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party, and those that refuse
to step in line--such as Hang Chakra's Khmer
Machas Rok--are often targeted for harassment by his government. Along those
lines, we continue to campaign on the unresolved death of Cambodian journalist Khem Sambo, who
reported critically about Hun Sen's government and was murdered just weeks
before the 2008 general elections.

All three of
these journalists honored here today have effectively been punished for their
courage to speak journalistic truth to power in their respective countries.
Their courage in reporting is an inspiration to all of us who believe
democracies cannot function without a free and probing press. Their repression
raises uncomfortable questions about the quality of democracy in their
respective homelands.

May the
governments who have bid to make punitive examples of their courage in
reporting take note of the international recognition and prestige they have
received here today.

CPJ Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn W. Crispin is based in Bangkok, where he is a reporter and editor for Asia Times Online. He has led CPJ missions throughout the region, and is the author of the CPJ special report, "Vietnam’s press freedom shrinks despite open economy."